Samurai｜Guimet Photographic Collection

The Guimet Museum in Paris, housing the largest collection of Asian arts outside of Asia, has collected an invaluable array of historical photographs taken in Japan in the 19th century.  These views of a pivotal time in the nation’s history are gathered into one portfolio focusing on Samurai in coordination with the 2015 Kyotographie photography festival in Kyoto.

A selection fo 26 of the 19th century prints are reintroduced as collotypes by master craftspeople at the Benrido Atelier.  This process allows the unique tonal qualities and colours of the original prints to be faithfully replicated with maximum historical accuracy on fine art pulp paper. The immersive limited edition of 2 hand-coloured and 18 black/white prints is housed in a handmade red clothbound case and includes an introduction by Jerome Ghesquiere, head of photography collections at the Guimet.